I’ve moved onto Universal Credit via managed migration You might be able to receive top-up payments to ensure you are no worse off under Universal Credit. How does transitional protection work? Transitional protection rules are supposed to ensure that families who would qualify for lower payments under Universal Credit receive top-up payments so that they are no worse off than before. This top-up is known as a transitional element. The DWP compares the amount you receive under legacy benefits (your “total legacy amount”) with an indicative amount it expects you to get under Universal Credit. If your indicative amount is lower than your total legacy amount, you will receive a transitional element to make up the difference. Eligibility In order to be eligible, you need to claim Universal Credit either by: The three-month deadline in your “migration notice”. The final deadline a month later. If you do not claim by the final deadline, you will not be eligible for transitional protection. This is so even if you claim Universal credit at some later date. For example, Sarah receives Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance of £977.16 per month and Housing Benefit of £548.52 per month. Her total legacy amount is therefore £1525.68 per month. Her Universal Credit indicative amount is £1288.77 per month. So long as she claims Universal Credit after receiving her migration notice but before her final deadline, she will receive a transitional element of £236.91 pm, to ensure that her income does not drop. Who won’t be protected? Unfortunately, not every family who is worse off on Universal Credit has been transitionally protected. In particular, families who were getting Child Tax Credit payments for a “looked after” disabled child in a residential setting are significantly worse off after moving onto Universal Credit. This is because they won’t have received transitional protection payments to make up for the less generous treatment of their “looked after” child under Universal Credit rules. There is also a risk that other families who are manage migrated onto Universal Credit won’t be transitionally protected. Some families with a 19-year-old in non-advanced education or a young person in a temporary interruption in education may also not have received the correct amount of transitional protection. Seek advice if you manage migrated onto Universal Credit and at the point you were migrated, you were getting tax credits for either: A 19 year old who turned 19 before 1 September 2024 and who remains in full-time non-advanced education. A young person who is 16-19 and in a temporary interruption in their education. It’s possible that you may not have received Universal Credit transitional protection to make up for the loss of payments for a child who is in one of the two groups above. This may be open to challenge so seek detailed advice. What if my capital is too high? Tax Credit claimants who had capital of more than £16,000 at the point they migrated to Universal Credit are eligible for transitional protection. However, this will be only temporary. There is a special “transitional capital disregard”. Under this rule, any capital you have above £16,000 will be ignored, but only for a maximum of 12 months. If you still have more than £16,000 in capital after 12 months, your Universal Credit award will end. Transitional protection payments don’t rise annually with inflation. Certain changes in circumstances can reduce them or even end them altogether. This means that even those receiving transitional protection will still be worse off over time. I’ve moved onto Universal Credit but NOT via managed migration If you had to claim Universal Credit because you had a change of circumstances, you will not get transitional protection. Similarly, you won’t be eligible for transitional protection if you choose to claim Universal Credit. (For example, because you think you might be better off.) There are only two exceptions to this: 1. Disabled adults already on Universal Credit who previously qualified for severe disability premium as part of their legacy benefit. These adults should receive transitional payments to compensate for the loss of the severe disability premium. 2. Families who had to move onto Universal Credit as a result of a DWP mistake and now receive a lower disabled child addition than under legacy benefits. (An example of such a mistake: DWP stopped your child’s DLA before reinstating it on appeal. The stoppage meant your Income Support claim as a carer ended). In this case, you should get a transitional payment. This is as a result of the Court of Appeal decision in R (TD & Ors) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Phone our free helpline for more details if you think this applies to you. Even if you are someone who receives transitional protection, you are still likely to be worse off over time. Transitional protection payments will not be uprated with inflation. Some changes in circumstances will also reduce the amount of transitional protection you receive.
I’ve moved onto Universal Credit via managed migration You might be able to receive top-up payments to ensure you are no worse off under Universal Credit. How does transitional protection work? Transitional protection rules are supposed to ensure that families who would qualify for lower payments under Universal Credit receive top-up payments so that they are no worse off than before. This top-up is known as a transitional element. The DWP compares the amount you receive under legacy benefits (your “total legacy amount”) with an indicative amount it expects you to get under Universal Credit. If your indicative amount is lower than your total legacy amount, you will receive a transitional element to make up the difference. Eligibility In order to be eligible, you need to claim Universal Credit either by: The three-month deadline in your “migration notice”. The final deadline a month later. If you do not claim by the final deadline, you will not be eligible for transitional protection. This is so even if you claim Universal credit at some later date. For example, Sarah receives Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance of £977.16 per month and Housing Benefit of £548.52 per month. Her total legacy amount is therefore £1525.68 per month. Her Universal Credit indicative amount is £1288.77 per month. So long as she claims Universal Credit after receiving her migration notice but before her final deadline, she will receive a transitional element of £236.91 pm, to ensure that her income does not drop. Who won’t be protected? Unfortunately, not every family who is worse off on Universal Credit has been transitionally protected. In particular, families who were getting Child Tax Credit payments for a “looked after” disabled child in a residential setting are significantly worse off after moving onto Universal Credit. This is because they won’t have received transitional protection payments to make up for the less generous treatment of their “looked after” child under Universal Credit rules. There is also a risk that other families who are manage migrated onto Universal Credit won’t be transitionally protected. Some families with a 19-year-old in non-advanced education or a young person in a temporary interruption in education may also not have received the correct amount of transitional protection. Seek advice if you manage migrated onto Universal Credit and at the point you were migrated, you were getting tax credits for either: A 19 year old who turned 19 before 1 September 2024 and who remains in full-time non-advanced education. A young person who is 16-19 and in a temporary interruption in their education. It’s possible that you may not have received Universal Credit transitional protection to make up for the loss of payments for a child who is in one of the two groups above. This may be open to challenge so seek detailed advice. What if my capital is too high? Tax Credit claimants who had capital of more than £16,000 at the point they migrated to Universal Credit are eligible for transitional protection. However, this will be only temporary. There is a special “transitional capital disregard”. Under this rule, any capital you have above £16,000 will be ignored, but only for a maximum of 12 months. If you still have more than £16,000 in capital after 12 months, your Universal Credit award will end. Transitional protection payments don’t rise annually with inflation. Certain changes in circumstances can reduce them or even end them altogether. This means that even those receiving transitional protection will still be worse off over time.
I’ve moved onto Universal Credit but NOT via managed migration If you had to claim Universal Credit because you had a change of circumstances, you will not get transitional protection. Similarly, you won’t be eligible for transitional protection if you choose to claim Universal Credit. (For example, because you think you might be better off.) There are only two exceptions to this: 1. Disabled adults already on Universal Credit who previously qualified for severe disability premium as part of their legacy benefit. These adults should receive transitional payments to compensate for the loss of the severe disability premium. 2. Families who had to move onto Universal Credit as a result of a DWP mistake and now receive a lower disabled child addition than under legacy benefits. (An example of such a mistake: DWP stopped your child’s DLA before reinstating it on appeal. The stoppage meant your Income Support claim as a carer ended). In this case, you should get a transitional payment. This is as a result of the Court of Appeal decision in R (TD & Ors) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Phone our free helpline for more details if you think this applies to you. Even if you are someone who receives transitional protection, you are still likely to be worse off over time. Transitional protection payments will not be uprated with inflation. Some changes in circumstances will also reduce the amount of transitional protection you receive.
Webinar: Moving onto Universal CreditRecording of a webinar hosted in August 2024 by one of our benefits expert, Derek.
Getting a managed migration noticeThis video is one of a series produced by Contact about the benefits system. It looks at the different ways that someone might move onto Universal Credit, a benefit for people of working age on low incomes.
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